Ouch! Is this a record?
Discussion
I've just got my car back from a 36K service with an indepentant - no issue with the establishment at all, but the list of requirements left my eyes watering:
O/S steering rack gaiter needed replacing.
Rear Discs badly worn - replaced incl new pads all round.
Brake hoses perished - replaced with braded hoses.
Rocker cover gasket leaking - both gaskets replaced.
Radiator leaking - re-cored.
Front top & bottom wishbones severely corroded - replaced.
Had a bit of bother with the top hose leaking coolant after I returned home - required several attempts at tightening before it stopped. Had to refill & bleed system.
Workshop manager was informed and helped out with suggestions and apologised.
All other items I had asked to be checked were addressed and fixed.
I bought the car in Feb this year, and the items listed would have been obvious during the previous service (less than 6k miles before) - methinks the guy I bought the car from ignored the issues as he was selling it anyway
Rob Ingleby sourced the car - have no issue with him either, but maybe that's why the vendor could not find service documentation when I asked for it!!!
Morale here: caveat emptor.

O/S steering rack gaiter needed replacing.
Rear Discs badly worn - replaced incl new pads all round.
Brake hoses perished - replaced with braded hoses.
Rocker cover gasket leaking - both gaskets replaced.
Radiator leaking - re-cored.
Front top & bottom wishbones severely corroded - replaced.
Had a bit of bother with the top hose leaking coolant after I returned home - required several attempts at tightening before it stopped. Had to refill & bleed system.
Workshop manager was informed and helped out with suggestions and apologised.
All other items I had asked to be checked were addressed and fixed.
I bought the car in Feb this year, and the items listed would have been obvious during the previous service (less than 6k miles before) - methinks the guy I bought the car from ignored the issues as he was selling it anyway
Rob Ingleby sourced the car - have no issue with him either, but maybe that's why the vendor could not find service documentation when I asked for it!!!
Morale here: caveat emptor.

My 4.0HC Chimaera had its' 36k service this past September. Many of the items you list as worn/replaced were the same as those worn/replaced on mine. The rear brake discs and pads were all replaced, both rocker gaskets were replaced, and the PS hose re-routed(after-market PS was fitted by the previous owner). The wishbones will need hammering and recovering at some point soon, and both sets of lower wishbone bushes will need replacing in the next 6 months(ouch££). I have owned the car for 1.5 years, with the previous service being one year ago. Not sure if all these things would have been noticed 6000/7000 miles ago...not looking for an argument, but I do wonder of these things can be foretold...anyone??
>> Edited by RiverGirrl on Friday 11th October 13:19
>> Edited by RiverGirrl on Friday 11th October 13:19
I've just got my car back from a 36K service with an indepentant - no issue with the establishment at all, but the list of requirements left my eyes watering:
O/S steering rack gaiter needed replacing.
Rear Discs badly worn - replaced incl new pads all round.
Brake hoses perished - replaced with braded hoses.
Rocker cover gasket leaking - both gaskets replaced.
Radiator leaking - re-cored.
Front top & bottom wishbones severely corroded - replaced.
Had a bit of bother with the top hose leaking coolant after I returned home - required several attempts at tightening before it stopped. Had to refill & bleed system.
Workshop manager was informed and helped out with suggestions and apologised.
All other items I had asked to be checked were addressed and fixed.
I bought the car in Feb this year, and the items listed would have been obvious during the previous service (less than 6k miles before) - methinks the guy I bought the car from ignored the issues as he was selling it anyway![]()
Rob Ingleby sourced the car - have no issue with him either, but maybe that's why the vendor could not find service documentation when I asked for it!!!![]()
Morale here: caveat emptor.
Did you get the car at a lower than market price because of the missing service record? Is there any service history. I do find it strange sometimes that so much can go wrong in 6k miles.
Presumably if Rob Ingleby sourced it , then it was a private sale. What kind of checks does he do on a car and did he give you a checklist of what was checked? I'd be a little miffed if I hadn't been pre-warned about a few of the things that have found to be wrong with yours inside 6000 miles.
Or of course, you're thrashing the nuts of it!!
I've had mine since Feb and it had a lot of things fixed and replaced on it by Mole Valley before I bought it – the usual serviceable items, brake disks and pads, bushes etc. So when it's serviced next Feb I do not expect to get a large bill because it will have only done some 4,000 miles since last being serviced.
Here's hoping!
[quote
Did you get the car at a lower than market price because of the missing service record? Is there any service history. I do find it strange sometimes that so much can go wrong in 6k miles.
Presumably if Rob Ingleby sourced it , then it was a private sale. What kind of checks does he do on a car and did he give you a checklist of what was checked? I'd be a little miffed if I hadn't been pre-warned about a few of the things that have found to be wrong with yours inside 6000 miles.
Or of course, you're thrashing the nuts of it!!
I've had mine since Feb and it had a lot of things fixed and replaced on it by Mole Valley before I bought it – the usual serviceable items, brake disks and pads, bushes etc. So when it's serviced next Feb I do not expect to get a large bill because it will have only done some 4,000 miles since last being serviced.
Here's hoping!
1) I have full history - I just don't have full details of what was done on each service prior to my ownership.
2) As you say, it was a private sale. Rob said he had driven the car, checked under the car and under the bonnet (fan operation etc,.) and it was a sound car - but he gives no written guarantee.
>> Edited by wolosp on Friday 11th October 16:55
Did you get the car at a lower than market price because of the missing service record? Is there any service history. I do find it strange sometimes that so much can go wrong in 6k miles.
Presumably if Rob Ingleby sourced it , then it was a private sale. What kind of checks does he do on a car and did he give you a checklist of what was checked? I'd be a little miffed if I hadn't been pre-warned about a few of the things that have found to be wrong with yours inside 6000 miles.
Or of course, you're thrashing the nuts of it!!
I've had mine since Feb and it had a lot of things fixed and replaced on it by Mole Valley before I bought it – the usual serviceable items, brake disks and pads, bushes etc. So when it's serviced next Feb I do not expect to get a large bill because it will have only done some 4,000 miles since last being serviced.
Here's hoping!
1) I have full history - I just don't have full details of what was done on each service prior to my ownership.
2) As you say, it was a private sale. Rob said he had driven the car, checked under the car and under the bonnet (fan operation etc,.) and it was a sound car - but he gives no written guarantee.
>> Edited by wolosp on Friday 11th October 16:55
david beer said: My i8 month old Griff had some £2k worth of bits needed doing at 12k service,i said no and next service a year later with a different dealer, no problems found! I obviously have a self cure car.
David - could you sprinkle some of your magic self curing fairy dust on my car too please?!
It depends what side you're coming from. If you're selling a car you're obviously not going to boast about all the things wrong with it. And if there's a bit of paper from the last service with the faults listed, you're unlikely to shove it under the buyer's nose either as he will simply demand £2K off the price.
So you buy the car and take it for its next service - and they rightly go over it with a magnifying glass to find every niggle - partly because they wouldn't be professional otherwise, and partly because they hope you will ask them to put it all right and make £££.
It's called the University of Life I think!
So you buy the car and take it for its next service - and they rightly go over it with a magnifying glass to find every niggle - partly because they wouldn't be professional otherwise, and partly because they hope you will ask them to put it all right and make £££.
It's called the University of Life I think!
MikeyT said:
Leadfoot said: 4K in a year! Drive the bleddy thing man!
Leadfoot - I'm easing in myself in gently ...
NO NO NO! Thats completely the wrong answer
The Correct answer (as yet, PH Unapproved) is
ahem...
Due the vast number of "Safety Camera's" apearing on the roads around {enter town/city/area here} I have been unable to utilise the full potential of the car, therefore, journey's have taken me longer and I have not been able to put in the mileage which one would expect of a "New Generation" TVR Owner! The Fact that I am a wuss has no bearing on the above statement.
>> Edited by tvradict on Saturday 12th October 22:39
I've just got my car back from a 36K service with an indepentant - no issue with the establishment at all, but the list of requirements left my eyes watering:
O/S steering rack gaiter needed replacing.
Rear Discs badly worn - replaced incl new pads all round.
Brake hoses perished - replaced with braded hoses.
Rocker cover gasket leaking - both gaskets replaced.
Radiator leaking - re-cored.
Front top & bottom wishbones severely corroded - replaced.
Had a bit of bother with the top hose leaking coolant after I returned home - required several attempts at tightening before it stopped. Had to refill & bleed system.
Workshop manager was informed and helped out with suggestions and apologised.
All other items I had asked to be checked were addressed and fixed.
I bought the car in Feb this year, and the items listed would have been obvious during the previous service (less than 6k miles before) - methinks the guy I bought the car from ignored the issues as he was selling it anyway![]()
Rob Ingleby sourced the car - have no issue with him either, but maybe that's why the vendor could not find service documentation when I asked for it!!!![]()
Morale here: caveat emptor.
------------------------------------------------------
You bought a car without seeing all the servicing invoices??? A dealer actually tried that one on me. Said that the commission sale owner had not bothered to keep invoices. I wondered if I looked that naive. Finally bought very low mileage Chim but despite FTVRSH and all paperwork I was still caught out. The fuse box was severely corroded due to months languishing in a garage.
tvradict said:
MikeyT said:
Leadfoot said: 4K in a year! Drive the bleddy thing man!
Leadfoot - I'm easing in myself in gently ...
NO NO NO! Thats completely the wrong answer![]()
The Correct answer (as yet, PH Unapproved) is
ahem...
Due the vast number of "Safety Camera's" apearing on the roads around {enter town/city/area here} I have been unable to utilise the full potential of the car, therefore, journey's have taken me longer and I have not been able to put in the mileage which one would expect of a "New Generation" TVR Owner! The Fact that I am a wuss has no bearing on the above statement.
![]()
>> Edited by tvradict on Saturday 12th October 22:39
& the correct answer to that lame excuse would be that:
"Sir should take his car to France & let it off the leash............
" I am new to TVR ownership but have been in the Motor Trade for longer than I care to admit to. If you buy a car privately there is always a possibility this will happen! There are two issues here, have you been stitched up by an indie looking for work or was the car not checked properly before purchase?
O/S steering rack gaiter needed replacing. (can go any time)
Rear Discs badly worn - replaced incl new pads all round. (should have been spotted by anyone checking the car out, rear discs will not go from good to worn out in this time/miles, pads can)
Brake hoses perished - replaced with braded hoses. (should have been spotted by anyone checking the car out)
Rocker cover gasket leaking - both gaskets replaced. (should have been spotted by anyone checking the car out - they weep for some time before they leak)
Radiator leaking - re-cored. (can go any time - apparently caused by body flexing, should last 2 years)
Front top & bottom wishbones severely corroded - replaced. (should have been spotted by anyone checking the car out)
I checked my car over myself before purchase but unless you have it up on a ramp you cannot check it properly. I don't know how your car was checked so I cannot comment on that. Remember, there is always a possibility that the parts you had replaced may not have been as bad as the garage made out. I know plenty of garages and am sorry to say that most of them will take money from wherever they can find it!
O/S steering rack gaiter needed replacing. (can go any time)
Rear Discs badly worn - replaced incl new pads all round. (should have been spotted by anyone checking the car out, rear discs will not go from good to worn out in this time/miles, pads can)
Brake hoses perished - replaced with braded hoses. (should have been spotted by anyone checking the car out)
Rocker cover gasket leaking - both gaskets replaced. (should have been spotted by anyone checking the car out - they weep for some time before they leak)
Radiator leaking - re-cored. (can go any time - apparently caused by body flexing, should last 2 years)
Front top & bottom wishbones severely corroded - replaced. (should have been spotted by anyone checking the car out)
I checked my car over myself before purchase but unless you have it up on a ramp you cannot check it properly. I don't know how your car was checked so I cannot comment on that. Remember, there is always a possibility that the parts you had replaced may not have been as bad as the garage made out. I know plenty of garages and am sorry to say that most of them will take money from wherever they can find it!
[quote There are two issues here, have you been stitched up by an indie looking for work or was the car not checked properly before purchase?
I've given the matter a good coat of thinking about over the last few days, and have come to the conclusion that one must just put such matters down to experience I guess.
>> Edited by wolosp on Sunday 13th October 18:45
I've given the matter a good coat of thinking about over the last few days, and have come to the conclusion that one must just put such matters down to experience I guess.
>> Edited by wolosp on Sunday 13th October 18:45
wolosp said:I've given the matter a good coat of thinking about over the last few days, and have come to the conclusion that the pre-purchase inspection was not as thorough as I had expected. I have had the car up on a ramp recently in order to treat the chassis, and was suprised at the amount of rust on the wishbones myself.
Paul,
Please to see that you got back from Sparkford without any further expenses - well maybe petrol
. I hope you get something sorted.
Bob
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